This feminist historical fantasy and gothic horror story, set in 1817 Edinburgh, follows Hazel Sinnett, the daughter of a wealthy and established Scottish family. Hazel has long been unofficially betrothed to her tiresome, but even more wealthy cousin. However, much to her mother’s disappointment, her true interests do not lie with fancy parties and marriage. Instead, she wants to defy the norms of the time and become a surgeon. When her distant parents leave her alone in the family castle for several months, Hazel dresses in her deceased brother's clothes and begins to study medicine - as a boy. Ultimately, her ruse is discovered and she is forced to leave the academy. With help from Jack, a local “resurrection man” (a person who digs up bodies from graveyards and sells them to medical students for experimentation), Hazel continues her anatomy studies independently, and eventually starts to medically treat locals in her nearly empty castle. Together, Hazel and Jack realize something very strange is happening in Scotland and their search for answers brings them face-to-face with a medical monster who raises ethical questions around the innate value of human lives. Anatomy was an all-consuming, curl-up-and-read-it-one-day-sort-of-page-turner, and a timely, spooky story for November. (gr 8+)
Michelle Techler (Teen Services Manager)